1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to snow grooming vehicles and, more specifically, to improvements to an apparatus for grooming snowmobile trails.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The concept of apparatus for leveling snow is well known in the art. The prior art apparatus generally show some type of member for engaging or directing snow from one location to another. Typical of the prior art patents on snow grooming devices are as follows:
The Cote U.S. Pat. No. 3,884,498 shows a flexible curved drag flap for attachment to the rear of a snowmobile. The drag flap attaches to the rear of a snowmobile through a flexible member that holds one edge of the flap in contact with the snowmobile trail.
The Brown U.S. Pat. No. 3,815,688 shows a snow grader having a support frame with a plurality of baffles extending crosswise across the frame at an angle of 90.degree. to the direction of travel of the grader.
The Maxey U.S. Pat. No. 4,056,328 shows a snow groomer for snowmobile trails which has leveler blades, a scoop roller and a floating pan which coact to work the snow and level the trail.
The Boisse, et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,878,900 shows a trail grooming apparatus having a two part frame with the rear part having a cutting blade that extends forward to cut snow and a large snow compactor bar which is located behind the cutting blade. The front part contains skis which can control the depth of cut.
The Ratcliffe U.S. Pat. No. 3,576,214 shows a trailer type snowmobile trail smoothing device having a plurality of scraper blades which are vertically adjustable. The frame is foldable to permit convenient storage or transportation.
The White U.S. Pat. No. 3,739,859 shows still another embodiment of the light-weight snow leveler for snowmobile trails. The White device uses a set of discs to cut up the snow and a set of snow shifting members to level the snow after the snow has been cut by the discs.
The Esquilat patent U.S. Pat. No. 4,058,913 shows a light-weight trail groomer having a blade positioned forward of a set of skis which are used to vertically position scraper blade.
The Camp U.S. Pat. No. 3,872,931 shows a combination transporting device and trail grader which has a moldboard that extends from side to side of the carrier to knock down any moguls or bumps in the trail.
In addition to apparatus designed for snow groomers, there are other types of land levelers. One such device is shown in the Northon U.S. Pat. No. 1,329,543. Northon shows a horse-pulled frame having a set of blades which are positionably adjustable to level a road.
A further embodiment of a land leveler is shown in the Sprague U.S. Pat. No. 2,881,540. Sprague shows a device with wheels thereon for raising or lowering the leveler and a set of transverse blades for leveling the soil.
The Purdy U.S. Pat. No. 3,047,969 shows an alternate embodiment of a land leveler useable for preparing a seedbed. The Purdy device has a set of diagonally spaced grader blade members which extend substantially across the leveling device to direct the dirt to and fro in a leveling process. Purdy includes retractable wheels to raise or lower the frame.
Of the prior art grooming devices, the prior art devices are either complicated, light-weight, or inadequate for use on snowmobile trails in wooded areas. The present invention provides improved snow trail groomer which can effectively level a trail through even the most difficult terrain.